Tech

The best tips and tools to get the most out of Netflix

Netflix can either be your best friend or your worst nightmare. When you’re halfway through a seven-season TV series or have a list of must-watch movies on your list with a fantastic Internet connection, Netflix is great. But what about when you don’t know what you want to watch? Or if your stream quality keeps jumping around?

These tips and tools will help improve your Netflix experience, whether you’ve been crying out for them or not. Plus your Netflix savviness will undoubtedly impress your dates/cats.

Set your own stream quality

At times, Netflix’s stream quality can jump wildly. Sometimes your Internet connection just isn’t fantastic and it hops up to super high quality and then immediately down to super low quality, or maybe you’re watching on your phone and don’t want to use up a lot of data on HD streams.

In your browser, go to https://www.netflix.com/HdToggle to set the stream quality to how you want it. On the same page, you can also select whether you want Netflix’s auto-play feature enabled, in case you’re a recovering binge-addict who needs some help with restraint.

Set your stream quality to whatever your preference is.

Image: Netflix

Browse Netflix’s hidden categories on the site

You may have heard about Netflix’s secret categories, of which there are over 200 to curate every movie and TV series on the service. The categories can be found through this URL:

http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/###

… where you replace the “###" with the specific genre code, which could be anything from Anime Fantasy (11146) to Military Dramas (11) to Werewolf Horror Movies (75930). Mashable has them all listed here, but you can also get the Super Browse browser extension to search the categories right in the service. The Google Chrome extension and a Firefox add-on will add a “Super Browse” search list at the top of the Netflix website.

The secret category "Movies for ages 8 to 10" brought up with the help of Super Browse

Add Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb ratings to Netflix

If Netflix’s ratings don't exactly line up with how you really feel, you can add ratings from popular websites Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb to your Netflix browsing. With the Chrome extension NEnhancer, films and TV series that have been rated by IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes will show their scores when you hover over them. The app is also working on a feature in beta that allows you to watch trailers without leaving the website.

NEnhancer adds ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb while you're browsing on Netflix.

Use your keyboard like a remote control

When you want to move forward or backward in your Netflix stream, scrubbing through the timeline with your mouse can be a pain. Sometimes you want to pause really quickly but getting your mouse to the pause/play button isn’t convenient. Or maybe your mouse just sucks.

To pause and play your show or movie, you can hit Space or Enter. Hit F for full-screen and Escape to get out of it. Rewind with Shift+Left arrow and fast forward with Shift+Right arrow. You can use the Up and Down arrows to change the volume and hit M to toggle mute.

Let fate decide what you watch

Flix Roulette gives you a random movie or TV show to watch with some customizable requirements.

Image: Flix Roulette

Flix Roulette is a website that gives you a randomly-generated title to watch on Netflix, with multiple options to narrow down your results. You can select movies, TV shows or both, select a range of ratings from 1-5, or put in a director’s name, actor’s name or keyword. Once you find a movie you might be interested in, click the button at the bottom of the listing for a direct link to it right on Netflix.

Delete your watch history

So this one isn’t really a big tip, but it’s a helpful tip for when you watch something that could be considered embarrassing and don’t want it showing up in your suggestions. Now when you host a watching party for the new season of House of Cards, your friends don’t need to know you watched six Nicholas Sparks movies two days ago based on what Netflix is suggesting for you.

By going to https://www.netflix.com/WiViewingActivity you can erase your Netflix activity with ease, see what other people on your account have been watching, or even change what you’ve rated different films and shows.

Mashable
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